Teeing off: The turf war dividing Sydney’s eastern suburbs

By Megan Gorrey

April 5, 2025 — 5.00am

The news

The NSW government’s plan to halve Moore Park’s 18-hole golf course to create a 20-hectare park has been caught in the crosshairs of the federal election, after the Coalition pledged $1 million for an alternative bid, put forward by a powerful alliance of golf groups lobbying to save the full course.

The funding promise has intensified a turf war over the controversial proposal to carve up the championship-length course, which has pitted Premier Chris Minns and influential City of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore against golfing enthusiasts, local politicians, and a Hollywood movie star.

The government wants to split the 45-hectare course and dedicate nearly half the site to a new public park.Credit: Nick Moir

Minns last year vowed to slash nine holes from Moore Park, the closest golf course to Sydney’s CBD, and convert nearly half the 45-hectare site into a park for residents of the nearby fast-growing suburbs of Green Square, Redfern, Zetland and Waterloo in mid-2026, citing the need to balance density with green space.

His move sparked a furious campaign from an alliance of industry bodies – Moore Park Golf Club, Golf NSW, Golf Australia and PGA of Australia – who have branded themselves as the Moore Park Golf Collective, banding together to fight back with a counterproposal to retain the course and create a sport and recreation precinct.

Wentworth Liberal candidate Ro Knox appealed to golfers when she visited the course with Senator Anne Ruston this week to announce the Coalition would help fund the alliance’s proposed Moore Park Golf Club Youth Recreation Zone — a space for children to play golf and outdoor activities – if elected at the May 3 poll.

The state government has signalled it won’t be backing down from its plan to shave off nearly half the course. Planning and Public Spaces Minister Paul Scully this week said: “The Moore Park Golf Collective’s plan has some holes in it.”

How we got here

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore, former Labor premier Bob Carr and others have for years declared Moore Park Golf Course should be chopped in half to create more parkland for a surging number of apartment dwellers.

The City of Sydney has forecast nearly 80,000 people will live within two kilometres of Moore Park by 2040. Former Coalition planning minister Rob Stokes asked the Greater Sydney Parklands Trust to consider the proposal in 2020, but later kiboshed the plan following backlash from golfers and the club. He instead floated the idea of a reconfigured golf course that did not cut the number of holes.

In October 2023, Minns announced the golf course would be slashed almost in half and partly given to the creation of a new civic park for residents.

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore (left) has urged Minns to forge ahead with plans to chop the course in half.Credit: Jessica Hromas

The government intends to reclaim the course’s western boundary and part of the land north of Dacey Avenue for public recreational space, maximising its proximity to apartment residents, while retaining a nine-hole golf course and the operation of the existing driving range and clubhouse.

The Moore Park Golf Collective’s plan, unveiled in November, includes a smaller 18-hole course that could host local, state and national competitions, a shortened driving range with extra bays, and a mini-golf course. It would transform 15 hectares of underutilised land into a football oval, BMX track, dog park, multi-storey 500-space carpark, and three-kilometre walking and bike path.

The alternative proposal also includes an adventure playground, a nature play space, a futsal court, and an athletics hub.

The government hasn’t yet revealed detailed plans for its proposed nine-hole course and parkland.

Key players

The plan to divide the course is being driven by the Labor state government, particularly Minns and Scully, and has been resisted by the NSW opposition, including leader Mark Speakman.

Sports Minister Steve Kamper told a recent budget estimates hearing he thought the alliance’s plan to keep the 18-hole course was “a good proposal”, but “essentially, it’s not a decision that falls in my lap”.

At a local government level, Moore wrote to Minns in March saying she continued to “strongly support” the state government’s plan. “The conversion will achieve the highest and best use of this public land, which now neighbours Green Square, one of the most densely populated residential communities in Australia.”

However, Randwick, Waverley and Woollahra councils have all passed motions supporting retention of the 18-hole course. Federal Labor MP Matt Thistlethwaite, who represents the eastern Sydney seat of Kingsford Smith, has also called for the 18-hole course to be preserved.

Moore Park Golf Club president John Janik has fought to save the course from “the ill-informed who continually believe the land and resources could be better used”.

US actor Mark Wahlberg, an avid golfer, also weighed in during a trip to Sydney, using social media to urge the Australian public to “save Moore Park Golf Club”.

What they said

Premier Chris Minns: “We make no apologies for opening up this publicly owned land to the public, delivering a brand-new park for Sydney. This is the densest part of Australia and already has a shortage of space for community sports. Our plan retains 90 golf courses across Sydney including a course at Moore Park while creating a new park for this growing community.”

Planning and Public Spaces Minister Paul Scully: “The Minns government has made it clear that we want to build better communities, with homes and public spaces that suit a range of needs, skills and lifestyles. But when we say we’re opening more spaces to the public, we mean it.”

The Moore Park Golf Collective unveiled their counterproposal in November.

Moore Park Golf Collective spokesman Jared Kendler: “This is a creative and visionary plan that addresses the problems in the broader precinct, and the feasibility and sustainability of what could be done there. It should focus on how do we get the best recreational facilities for a growing Sydney, while also maintaining the best facilities for golf, which is absolutely booming right now.”

City of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore: “I understand why the wealthy councils that border Centennial Park are concerned about holding onto a short drive to an 18 hole golf course. But here on the Moore Park side, where we have shouldered the brunt of increased housing density in the area, we desperately need walking access to open parkland.”

NSW opposition planning spokesman Scott Farlow: “There’s a win-win on the table there which would retain 18 holes of golf plus open up more public open space. It’s already one of the most highly used public golf courses in Australia with about 100,000 rounds of golf being played there a year. I can’t see anything else utilising that space that much.”

What you need to know

Moore Park Golf Course is one of 16 government-owned public golf courses in metropolitan Sydney and is run by a private operator under a service agreement with the NSW government.

The club’s operating agreement expires in June 2026, after which the course will be reconfigured.

When asked about his plans for the parkland in March, Minns told parliament the government would “put more sporting infrastructure in, particularly football fields for local sport organisations”.

The golf club’s lease expires in June 2026, after which the 18-hole course would be reconfigured.Credit: Louise Kennerley

Moore last month seized on speculation that converting the course to nine holes would cost $200 million, saying the City of Sydney estimated the figure would be closer to $10 million. The government has raised concerns the alternative plan would repurpose only 7.5 hectares of land, be hugely expensive due to the multi-storey carpark, require the removal of trees and block views from Mount Steele.

Kendler said no trees would be lost, and he estimated the industry’s proposal, including the 500-space carpark, would cost about $45 million.

What’s next?

The government allocated $2.6 million for preliminary planning and design works in the 2024-25 budget, and said there would be further engagement on the design of the course and park with interested parties this year.

Kendler said the alliance was waiting for the government to release detailed plans and costings.

“We’re not saying this is the only plan. I welcome engagement with the government on how to build on it and improve it. We’re hoping we can have a seat at the table to share our expertise … to ensure the people of NSW get the best possible outcome from Moore Park South.”

NewsBite